
I visited this WHS in October 2015. At last I can give some information on this WHS from a non-native perspective and from someone who has not been posted to work there. Angra do Heroismo is situated 1566km away from Lisbon, in one the Azores archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean called Terceira. Terceira merely has 56,000 inhabitants, meaning that it has much more cattle than people! In Azores terms it is one of the most populated since it has a vast verdant fertile land suitable for agriculture. Angra is proudly described by locals as the window of the Atlantic between Europe and the New World as well as the Atlantic's first European city. To arrive in Terceira, I flew from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel Island and then to Terceira the following day. I spent 3 days in Angra (Anchorage) and I really enjoyed my time there. The taxi ride from the airport to Angra costs around 20 euros so I opted not to drive in Terceira mostly because it would be quite hard to find a suitable parking space. The best panoramic viewpoint is definitely opposite Monte Brasil just below the Monumento Alto da Memória (which really looks out of place and reminded me of the Golden Pagoda in Vientiane, Laos!). Before this monument was erected there was yet another fort/castle here. From this point I followed a clearly sign-posted UNESCO WHS trail covering 24 locations of interest. In a way it is the same approach adopted for Macao, China and indeed with the same type of information boards. It is easy to cover over a day but since the weather is quite unpredictable here and since the hike to Monte Brasil is quite uphill I would advise to allow at least 2 full days. There are 2 400 year old forts/castles guarding Angra - Sao Joao Baptista do Monte Brasil/Castle of Sao Filipe, which is situated in a military zone and which is only accessible escorted by a military guide at 14:00hrs every day, and the Fortress of Sao Sebastiao which nowadays houses a pousada but is still worth visiting if only for the walls and the view over Ilheus das Cabras. The other locations are mainly clustered along or around the 2 'landmarks' of Angra do Heroismo - the yellow coloured 2 steeple Santissimo Salvador da Se Church and the blue Misericordia Church (picture). Both are worth a short visit while strolling down Rua da Se and Rua Direita. I also hiked up to Monte Brasil and round the rim of an extinct volcano. The view over Angra is very worthwhile especially on a sunny day as you can easily spot the Renaissance influence on the city. Overall, the restoration works are of excellent quality even though the new marina hotel built opposite the Fortress of Sao Sebastiao really is a depressing eyesore to behold. The highlight of my visit though was the hidden Sao Goncalo Church inside the Convent of Sao Goncalo. Although the convent doors are always closed, you can ring a bell at the side entrance of the convent and by paying 2 euros you will be shown round the church and the convent. The oval baroque presbytery is really unique as are the old azulejo tiles that adorn the church. This WHS is definitely one of Portugal's best cultural WHS even though its geographical position was instrumental for inscription early on in the list. While in Terceira, try not to miss the tentative site of Algar do Carvao which is quite unique even though I think it won't be inscribed any time soon and also visit some of the colourful chapels dedicated to the Holy Ghost as they are really worth visiting.
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